when skies are grey

Beach Hike

2012-01-27T10:21:00.002-05:00

The last hike we went on was another favorite trail, a beach hike that is about 2 1/2 miles long. I tend to show more of Florida's inland features since they are more interesting to me and I feel like the beaches get all the exposure anyway, but there is no denying their beauty.

3 Cats

2012-01-22T13:25:00.002-05:00

The first cat is a new painted wood in the shop.
The second cat is THE original Herman Marie. He just loves rolling around in dirt and this time it was ridiculous. That fur is supposed to be white!
Lastly, A new cat masked mook.
And that is enough cat action for now :)

Poison Bottles

2012-01-19T17:57:00.004-05:00

A couple of new additions to the Herman Marie Shop .

"Moonrise Kingdom"

2012-01-12T16:38:00.002-05:00

Did you know Wes Anderson has a new movie? I adore all his beautiful, eclectic movies so I am already anticipating this being a favorite. Super excited!

Exploring

2012-01-06T12:21:00.002-05:00

I've never really liked the term "Hiking". It just doesn't sound like something I like to do. But I really love taking long walks into the woods, being in the forest. Our winter weather has been beautiful, so we've been taking advantage and "exploring" as much as we can :)

Thrifted Things

2011-12-16T15:52:00.002-05:00

Some nice book covers, especially like "The Meandering Mushroomer". And a great new sweater.

Thank you so much for the sweet words about Herman Marie :)

Giveaway Results.

2011-11-25T13:32:00.002-05:00

I went to random.org and generated the numbers for first and second place for the giveaway. The winner of the wood shape is #9 (Elisabeth) and the poster was #8 (Sadhbh). Congratulations to you both :)

Herman Marie Giveaway

2011-11-18T15:30:00.004-05:00

As promised, A Herman Marie giveaway! The first prize will be your choice of any (1) wooden piece from the shop with second prize being the Herman Marie poster. All you have to do is leave a comment below to be counted in. Even if you've never commented here before, please do. I would love to hear from you :) I will keep this open until next Wednesday and announce the winners on Thursday. Good Luck!

Herman Marie!

2011-11-16T09:15:00.006-05:00

And here it is, at long last: Herman Marie, my new etsy shop !! This has been an idea of mine for many years (actually since college days when I first started cutting wood shapes). It is really exciting to have it become a reality. I am hoping it will become a nice option for people wanting fun, colorful designs throughout their homes.
On Friday I will be doing a giveaway, something I haven't done in a while. So if you would, please help spread the word about the new shop and stop back by for a chance to win something nice. Oh, and check out the shop too, if you'd like :)

new etsy shop

2011-11-15T15:52:00.000-05:00

New etsy shop teaser. I will post some good pictures tomorrow :)

Animalia Shop

2011-11-12T11:15:00.002-05:00

I keep meaning to post about the wonderful shop Animalia which is run by the lovely Rachael Posnak. She approached me a few months back about having some mooks in her shop and I was instantly sold upon seeing how wonderfully she has curated such an great collection of mostly animal-related artwork. A fellow animal lover, Rachel donates 10% of the profits to Wildlife Conservation. Go check it out!

Garden update

2011-11-04T11:32:00.002-04:00

Unlike most places, we take the summer months off from gardening here in Florida. But this year, instead of letting my garden beds get taken over by weeds, I planted a cover crop called Sunn Hemp. I've already tilled it into the soil and cannot wait to plant in a few weeks! As soon as I get my new etsy shop up and running (the last picture is a bit of a preview).

Halloween!

2011-10-29T14:54:00.002-04:00

We just got our pumpkin and are all working on finishing up our costumes today. Maybe later, we will join in on some of the early Halloween festivities happening around town.
Hope everyone has a very Creepy Halloween this year :)

Forest Tower

2011-10-25T14:46:00.002-04:00

These are pictures from a recent "hike" up an 150-foot Forest Ranger Tower. While I'm not normally afraid of heights, the fact that the tower swayed in the wind and wasn't in the best shape had my legs shaking for 20 minutes after I was on firm ground again. The bottom pictures show a little millipede we found while there.

In other news, I plan on posting a lot more frequently and have plans to open another etsy shop within the next few weeks. Pretty exciting!

More Mooks

2011-10-10T10:04:00.002-04:00

These guys were specifically made in preparation for another "Many Faces of Mook" print for the shop.

Thank you so much for the warm response about the commercial. I've heard from many people who have actually seen it on TV and written me to make sure I approved it. I so appreciate all the well-wishers, thank you :)

Mooks Star in Commercial

2011-10-05T10:00:00.005-04:00

A few months ago, I was approached with the idea of having my mooks appear in a Hyundai Commercial. Hesitant at first, I soon transitioned to disbelief and then total excitement. The people I had contact with at the production company were absolutely wonderful to work with, checking in with me as their ideas progressed and keeping me in the loop as they actually took shape. I almost didn't think it would happen until a friend texted me yesterday to say the commercial had been spotted. I finally got to see it and I really do love it. Check it out, it's only a few seconds :)!

(I haven't benefited from this much financially, but the exposure is more than I could have asked for. My mooks on TV, how cool is that? Pretty cool, I think :)

Fever Ray Video

2011-08-29T15:29:00.002-04:00

Great Video.
(thanks, Mike)

Film Pics

2011-08-17T08:47:00.002-04:00

I had some film pictures developed the other day. Beyond other problems with the order was the fact that the negatives weren't lined up right. But for these three pictures I thought it created a nice effect.

Lucky Peach. I flipped through it at the store, it's great. I didn't buy it in time and now I'm awaiting it in the mail.

Hello again

2011-08-11T15:42:00.003-04:00

As usual, the summer heat of Florida has stifled my inspiration for a bit. But I am ready to come back to more regular posting and get back into the mix :)

The squirrel painting is a last-minute gift I made for a family members birthday. I was going to bake her favorite cookies but since she is so in love with her pet squirrel I did this instead.

Sweet Peach did a really cute write up called "Meet the Mooks", check it out if you'd like.

A Cabin in the Woods

2011-06-28T13:30:00.003-04:00

A few weeks back we made our yearly trip to visit with close friends in the northern part of the state. One of many highlights was a trip out to their brothers cabin in the woods. Such a beautiful place, both magical and creepy. Just my style :)

-In the top picture you can see the owl our friends little girl is looking at if you look closely.

New Mooks

2011-06-17T14:26:00.001-04:00

A couple of new mook sculptures in the shop.

Studio Sweet Studio

2011-06-13T19:12:00.003-04:00

Have you seen the blog, Studio Sweet Studio yet? If you haven't, I'm excited for you because you are in for a treat! It has lots of inspirational spaces and tons of amazing artwork. And so it was a real honor when I was asked for a few pictures of my workspace for one of their studio tours. Here it is : I Love Grey Skies' Studio Tour.

2011-06-06T09:18:00.002-04:00

I will be off the computer for the next week and have nothing new to show so I've dredged up some oldies.

The charming and talented Kim Welling did a little interview with me over at her blog :)

Mask and Tails

2011-05-27T09:04:00.002-04:00

Mask and Tail Set by Oeuf, a fair trade company. So cute!
Found via:Design is Mine

Apples

2011-05-21T17:21:00.002-04:00

Working on some fun things :)

I have been revisiting the Drunk History series. So funny, if you haven't seen them yet go have a look.

Sick Day

2011-05-18T15:43:00.003-04:00

Me and my little guy were both feeling sick-ish yesterday so he stayed home from school. I couldn't wait to lay in bed for the rest of the day so I made his favorite dinner (Coconut Curry) at lunchtime. It was nice to be able to find some ingredients in my garden, didn't have to leave the house all day.

Speaking of food, I want to cook every dish featured on Bap Story, yum.

Design for Mankind is running a contest offered by MeridaHome to win an iPad2! Might as well enter it yourself :)

Blueberry picking

2011-05-10T09:41:00.002-04:00

On a farm out in the middle of nowhere, we went blueberry picking. It was so hot but fun :)

Mother's Day

2011-05-08T12:52:00.002-04:00

Found a couple of grainy but sweet photos of my mom and I. I am right now enjoying a few hours alone, a request I make every mothers day so I can work on some projects. Afterwards we will meet back up again and enjoy the rest of the day together. A very Happy Mothers Day to all the moms out there, hope your day is perfect :)

Sharks!

2011-04-20T12:57:00.008-04:00

When a customer requested a shark-masked mook, I jumped right on it since I've bean meaning to make one anyway. When it was all said and done I couldn't help thinking of my etsy pal, Matty8080. I have long admired his drawing skill and he is a super nice guy to boot :) Check out his etsy shop if you haven't already, his prints are very affordable and unique!

Here is his wonderful shark print :

Medicine Cabinet/Steiff Collection

2011-04-12T15:22:00.006-04:00

I have a wonderful friend that thought of me when she saw this vintage metal medicine cabinet at a yard sale a few months back. I love it so much and now use it to hold two of my favorite collections-my best comics books and my Steiff collection. My grandmother, originally from Germany would make yearly trips back and often purchase a Steiff while there. The year I went with her I picked out the lamb. I love having such a nice case to display as well as protect a collection I have loved since I was a child :)

House pictures

2011-04-02T13:16:00.003-04:00

We had a little party a few weeks back which got me in the mood to switch things around a bit. We put this dinette in the living room which I love because I can work on projects while still hanging out with my boys, in theory. And I finally pulled out the Ikea Skojig table lamp a friend had picked up for me a few months ago. I love keeping it on as a nightlight, it casts such a nice hue.

for Japan

2011-03-22T11:25:00.002-04:00

One of the many ways to give to Japan, Pikaland is donating 100% of the net profits from the sale of Mogu's poster to the International Federation of Red Cross & Red Crescent Society.

When our little town was hit with a category 4 hurricane, Red Cross was on the scene immediately and was amazing in getting out supplies where needed, including hot meals daily. I can't imagine what families in Japan are going through but I do know every little bit helps.

"No Place Like Home" print

2011-03-09T15:44:00.002-05:00

I finally had the illustration I did some months ago made into a print! I am happy with how it came out so it's in the shop now.

And thanks so much for the sweet comments on my last post. They were posted by some of my very favorites so it means a lot :)

Eustace Tilley

2011-02-25T10:14:00.002-05:00

I made this for the annual "Your Eustace" design contest for the New Yorker. I've been wanting to try working sculpture into an illustrative style for a while and considered this a great way to exercise the opportunity. I did in in the last hours before the contest ended so was not at all surprised it didn't make the cut but genuinely had fun making it.
I really do miss having deadlines, there is nothing like the pressure and productivity of those last few hours to get things to take shape in a definitive way.

good link: The Life Of Edward Gorey, Told By An Old Friend.

the zoo and a long hike

2011-02-22T15:40:00.002-05:00

We went to the Zoo this weekend and wound up spending much of our time catching minnows in a little creek we discovered. Playing in a creek never gets old :)
The next day we went on a hike. It wound up being a lot longer than we thought, about 8 miles I think.

honeyandbee etsy shop

2011-02-16T13:18:00.003-05:00

I was included in a treasury that included this tiny bone collection from the honeyandbee etsy shop.
Very cool!

2011-02-13T13:18:00.002-05:00

The weather has been perfect lately for having little picnics in the yard and looking at books. I thrifted this coffee cup a while back and then spotted one from the same line in this etsy shop.

Kid Robot Feature!

2011-02-10T10:19:00.002-05:00

Kid Robot's blog, the KRonikle did a really nice write-up on my work! It really feels like a big deal, I'm am really happy about it :)

See it here.

More mook love

2011-02-03T12:08:00.002-05:00

It's strange but I always feel hesitant to post pictures of my sculptures. I guess I don't want to overwhelm the blog with my them, knowing they are not everyone's taste. But I have customers that contact me through etsy wondering if I have a blog since I don't link to it there. So here are some new pieces in the shop for those people :)

Someone wrote me a nice note today, pointing out that I had reached 500 sales, pretty cool!

Winter Garden

2011-01-23T15:09:00.003-05:00

I guess I've just accepted after blogging so long that sometimes I just take breaks, usually when I am carrying my camera around less. I am so excited about how well my little winter garden is doing, even though I haven't put much work in to it either. On the trellises are sweet peas and sugar snaps. In the beds are carrots, beets, (lots of) arugula, broccoli and some newly growing cilantro and parsley. And a little rabbit that blends in unless you look closely :)
The sweet potato plant died in the frost, but actually I didn't know they were there until then so I wasn't too sad about it.

And almost forgot to mention Cecilia is having a nice giveaway over at her blog.

And I just spotted these last night: Doc Martins collaboration with Sanrio, cute.

Film

2010-11-29T15:59:00.002-05:00

Our scanner has been broken forever. We recently got a new one so I finally had the opportunity to scan some film photos. I love how the top one looks like the sausage patty is floating in mid-air :)

These "extinct toys" by Josh Finkle are amazing.

2010-11-20T09:56:00.001-05:00

We did another nice hike and found a rope swing over a creek, so much fun for the kids. And some more boy fun was had catching frogs.

More cool boy stuff: love these pajamas, found via bloesem kids.

Mr. and Mrs. Mook

2010-11-12T15:17:00.001-05:00

I really love making little things, always have. This mink stole was one of my favorites!

Aardvark

2010-11-06T07:12:00.002-04:00

Some more playing with masks :)
I did more of this same thing a while back, go see!

Trick-or-Treating

2010-11-03T16:33:00.003-04:00

The top picture is from trick-or-treating this year. We do a little bit of driving/hanging out the back of the car around my moms neighborhood every year. It's my favorite Halloween tradition. The bottom picture is from last year.

Panda Cat

2010-10-30T13:40:00.003-04:00

Playing around with my panda mask. My cat, Herman wasn't the easiest model but we managed some fun shots together :)

Cute Etsy find

2010-10-28T08:44:00.002-04:00

There is something so cute about these crocheted skulls by DeweyDecimalCrafts.
The Small Object blogged about them too.

Egg Tree seeds, may get some just for fun.

My Neighber Totoro

2010-10-23T12:39:00.002-04:00

We borrowed a projector this week for a project. To try it out we put in My Neighbor Totoro and it looked so good, we moved the furniture out of the way and watched it on the wall. Later, Tony and I watched another movie with it. Would love to own one and have movie parties!

2010-10-21T09:49:00.002-04:00

Wow, yesterday an etsy customer emailed me about a print of mine he saw on Apartment Therapy. Excitedly, I went over and saw this sweet write-up. Made my day :)

2010-10-17T16:18:00.002-04:00

Yesterday we went on a 3-hour hike through a 300+ Acre Florida preserve. It was really fun and we even learned some survival tips (like starting a fire with a magnifying glass :)

Hello there!

2010-10-14T14:21:00.002-04:00

OK, OK. I am back to blogging after another long break. I should just plan on breaking for the months of August and September since I wind up doing just that. It's the long summer, I get so uninspired I guess. Thanks so much for the sweet comments, I am glad to be back with you guys :)

AND, please check out my blog! I tweaked the layout a bit and it feels so much cleaner, it was long overdue for an update. Even though most people see it in a reader, it's nice to have it look like your style. And now it does.

Proverbs-Illustration Friday

2010-09-17T11:47:00.002-04:00

It's been way too long since I've contributed to Illustration Friday. This weeks (actually this past weeks) subject was "Proverbs".

I plan to be back on regular-ish blogging within the next week or so :)

Summertime

2010-08-05T09:08:00.002-04:00

Summer here is not the same kind of summer most people know. Whereas most people want to get out and enjoy the weather, even the heat-lovers at this time of year are staying inside :) It gets pretty brutal. But we try to make the best of it, and the afternoon rainstorms are always pretty exciting.

I wanted to say thanks so much for the comments on my spring roll post! I always try to comment back but since I am so haphazard with blogging I always figure no one will check back. But I will try to be better with that AND will be posting a recipe for the spring rolls soon-I want to make them once more to be sure :)

Mogu makes such nice things!

Summer Rolls!

2010-07-14T09:38:00.002-04:00

I love the beauty and freshness of summer rolls. My sister has been coming over weekly to help make them with me (she is a natural at making them pretty :). I'm testing different combinations, trying to make a perfect blend of ingredients that I will stick with. I know it's not authentic but I have been tossing the rice noodles with some soy sauce and sesame oil before they go in the summer roll. I just want them being a little more flavorful on their own.
Has anyone else made them? Any other suggestions for me?

New Shelves

2010-07-10T07:55:00.006-04:00

Our friends came to visit for a few days and besides getting the house in order, I thought it would be nice to have something new. So it pushed me to make these shelves that I had already designed in my head. Now I want to make more :)

Cute faces

2010-07-01T08:48:00.002-04:00

Some cute faces in the potatoes I was washing the other day :) I scraped a bit of the bottom ones smile away so I added some back in.

sculptures

2010-06-28T08:32:00.006-04:00

Some pictures of 2 of the sculptures I sent to the show. I wanted to take my mooks a little further, show a bit of their strange world.

And here is a great article about introverts. I discovered it a few months back and absolutely loved it, wanted to print out copies and give them to everyone I know, ha :)

Clay Curiosities

2010-06-24T09:54:00.005-04:00

I am so excited to be part of this group show at Renegade this Saturday !

Garden

2010-06-19T12:36:00.002-04:00

I took these pictures of our garden a few weeks back. It doesn't look this nice now as the heat of summer in Florida is taking its toll. Within the next couple of days I will be pulling it all out and taking a few months off until fall. Every year I go just a little bigger.

Thrift Finds

2010-06-15T17:13:00.003-04:00

I guess I took another blog break :) The top photo shows some of my recent thrift finds: some assorted vintage fabric, S & P shakers and a nice Finel bowl. I used some of the flower fabric to make curtains for my dining room. Not completely in love with it, but I do love the golden hue it gives the room.

2010-05-17T09:19:00.002-04:00

Inspired by this post from Dos Family, I did some hard-core spring cleaning, but got burnt out after the bedrooms (it took so long!). Also made a shadowbox type thing for a customer.

2010-05-10T15:35:00.002-04:00

Just a couple (unrelated) images to get me back into the blogging swing :) I had some yummy pho last night and Tony brought home a cool looking beetle to show us.

Mulberries!

2010-04-19T08:56:00.003-04:00

A couple of years ago we purchased a mulberry sapling which at the time looked like a twig in the ground. Just a couple years later it has grown so beautifully and is now producing hundreds of the sweet, stain-y fruit we love. It's one of those things I feel really lucky to have :)

Day Trip, part 2

2010-04-13T15:37:00.003-04:00

It was such a nice surprise to discover the museum had a Norman Rockwell display in its' rotating modern art section. He has always been a favorite of mine, so getting to look closely at all his meticulous brush strokes was a real treat.
After the museum we visited an aquarium, it made for a nice day :)

Day Trip

2010-04-13T15:33:00.002-04:00

We took a somewhat spontaneous day trip yesterday. I love seeing such huge and wonderful paintings, inspires me.

The prints

2010-04-09T09:38:00.007-04:00

The 4 Illustrations I did for the Happy Family Card series.

I had them made into 5" X 7" inch prints for the shop.

Happy Family Card Set

2010-04-07T13:15:00.005-04:00

The Happy Family Card Set is out!! A really fun collaboration thought-up by Esti and Illustrated by eight artist in total : Thereza Rowe, Sarajo Frieden, Lotte Andkilde, Lady Desidia, Pintameldia, Alexandra Hedberg, Aris Moore and Kimberley Laurenti .
Box layout designed by Jorge Fernández. It was such a privelidge to be among such talent :)

All proceeds from the sale of the sets will go to Doctors Without Borders. See Esti's post for details.

I made some small prints of my designs that I will show when I get a chance.

Easter

2010-04-03T15:03:00.002-04:00

Looks like it's bunny time again ;)
Happy Easter!

2010-04-03T09:06:00.001-04:00

Earlier this week we went camping with friends, had so much fun :)

Nice Trailer

2010-03-28T11:35:00.005-04:00

My friend Mike brought this trailer of a beautiful Czech movie to my attention, knowing that I would love it. He was right.

Fixed-up Desk

2010-03-24T13:41:00.005-04:00

This was a project I completed for E's room last year but just haven't gotten around to posting the Before and After's. Now that I have finally located the before pictures, I am even impressed, ha!. I pried up all the formica from the top (this was definitely the worst part), scraped off the contact paper someone had covered up the metal body with (?), sanded, painted and finally added some oak veneer plywood to the top, stained and sealed it.
And now it is just the desk I had pictured for him :)

Here are the before pictures.

* And the poster is Elisabeth's Krakatoa. I had bought if for myself but Enz claimed it for his own as soon as we opened the tube.

a mom and her cubs

2010-03-19T12:02:00.004-04:00

I made a new sculpture, a mook creature with her cubs :)

Floating

2010-03-18T09:16:00.002-04:00

I can't get over this picture from Tsimothy James Kelly's flickr stream, it looks like such a great time. Ideally it would end with a simple picnic and some wine :)

Originally uploaded by Tsimothy James Kelly

Road Trip Photos, Part 2

2010-03-15T09:10:00.001-04:00

A few more pics form our road trip. The top three pictures are from an amazing space where my friend Mark has his sculpture studio. And the people in them are some of my very favorites :)

Road Trip photos, Part 1

2010-03-11T13:17:00.005-05:00

The past week was spent taking care of a super sick little boy. Hated it so much for him but felt really lucky that I could be home with him, making him as cozy as can be. My computer got really messed up too...couldn't read my favorite blogs to pass the time. But now everything seems to be looking up :)
Here's a few pictures from our yearly road trip up the state to visit some of our very favorite friends, we had a great time again.

New skirt

2010-03-03T09:00:00.002-05:00

About a month ago I bought Built By Wendy Sew U in hopes that I would finally learn how to sew using a pattern. Using the skirt pattern, I actually made myself a skirt with a zipper, darts and lining! It's far from perfect and way shorter then I'm used to (I got a little ahead of myself when cutting the length, didn't allow for the hem) but I am happy with it. I think for summer I will add a ruffle to the lining to give me a extra few inches.

p.s. The picture of me wearing it is just to show how nice it fits, it was taken right after I jumped, ha! That's why I am in such a weird position. :)

Best Friends!

2010-02-28T17:25:00.003-05:00

A new pair of mooks in the shop, they are best buds :)

Catching up!

2010-02-24T17:27:00.003-05:00

Finally starting to catch up after being sick for the week before a road trip to visit friends in the northern part of the state. I snapped some quick pictures of the gifts Enzo made for the Valentines party his class had. I use clothes pins for so many things around the house I'm thinking of making more, it was the perfect project for him. My inspiration for these came from a need to do something quick and seeing Heidi's pins.
More soon!

2010-02-09T12:18:00.003-05:00

These images were from last Halloween, the top one is digital and the bottom is film. It was a fun night of trick-or-treating. I've been sick with a bad cold the last few days, so not much else to show.

Need some time, please.

2010-01-31T17:20:00.002-05:00

Just not getting enough time to work on creative endeavors lately, gets frustrating. I'm finding inspiration wherever I can get it, like this album cover from a thrift store...Love the bottle graphics (I will probably cut 'ol Lawrence out and frame the bottles :)

Have you seen Gemma Corrells daily diary blog? I love that too.

We had a frost.

2010-01-20T15:04:00.005-05:00

A week or so back we actually had a frost, which is pretty rare in these parts. And it stayed nice and chilly for a few days. The only downside is our fauna is just not used to such low temperatures. I had a favorite succulent outside that I hacked a big chunk off, hoping to save it. Even though it has dropped so many of its' leaves, I think it will make it.
The bottom picture is just to show how crowded my hutch is getting. Time for some more shelving in the kitchen :)

Heidi posted about this, such a great idea. Craft Hope Etsy will be giving all of the proceeds of sales to Doctors without Borders in Haiti. It is too late to donate but not too late to buy!

Flowers and Vegetables

2010-01-12T08:24:00.002-05:00

We met up with friends at a produce stand a little south of us, hoping to pick strawberries.While they didn't have any strawberries to be picked, they did have rows and rows of snapdragon flowers that we picked and brought home. Much of the beautiful produce they were selling could be seen growing in the vast acres behind their neatly kept stand. It was a nice trip :)

Mook Love, a new print

2010-01-07T10:36:00.004-05:00

A new print in the shop today !

Recent thrifting

2010-01-05T09:44:00.005-05:00

Just some recent thrifting finds, they are all so dainty. When I brought them home I had them set down next to the Elisabeth's advent illustration I recently printed out (Thank you!) from happy doll blog. It's like they were all meant to be together :)

Might as well try to draw.

2009-12-31T15:20:00.002-05:00

Messed around a bit in my neglected sketchbook. I think drawing is the hardest of mediums, so unforgiving-but some people disagree.
I'm looking forward to a new year, it's always nice to start anew even if only figuratively. I wish everyone the best year yet :) !! Happy New Year!

2009-12-28T15:26:00.002-05:00

Phew, it's over! This month was a bit too heavy with all the Christmas events we attended, as well as all the holiday preparations. We did potato stamping for all of our wrapping paper and that was right up Enzo's alley, he loved it.
We did have really nice times with family and freinds, but I am SO glad it's all over...I much prefer these quieter, normal days.

double radish!

2009-12-17T14:04:00.003-05:00

Yesterday Enzo excitedly discovered a double radish bulb while he was picking them from the garden. I told him to hold them and I'd get the camera to take a picture. Seconds after I took these pictures, he said, "HERE, take them!" I told him I didn't see what was so hard about holding them for a minute. I'd never noticed until then but they have these tiny prickly stems.
I guess he was getting poked by them the whole time. Bad mother :)

Silkscreening day

2009-12-15T09:48:00.002-05:00

I was able to carve out some time last week to silkscreen another batch of the grey button holders for the shop. It's such a fun process, but also a bit challenging.

Key Lime Pies

2009-12-13T10:58:00.002-05:00

Whoa, it's been a while since I was last here! I've been trying to get all my etsy shop orders done and mailed so I've been busy. These pictures are from a few weeks back when I was making lots and lots of Key Lime pies with all the limes from my tree (the above photo was just one of the batches). About a year and a half ago, we put our compost bin under this little tree and this year it produced so much fruit!

November birthdays

2009-11-25T14:01:00.002-05:00

Mike, my good friend of many years, came to visit a few months back before moving to Germany. Today is his birthday, Happy Birthday Mike!
It's also our good friend Lee's birthday today! And my mom's was 2 days ago. I guess late November produces some cool people :)

my parents

2009-11-17T09:19:00.003-05:00

I've always loved this picture of my parents, so when NPR did an article on the website, My Parents Are Awesome, I thought I'd submit it.

2009-11-11T14:47:00.002-05:00

I pulled out the 'ol film camera this summer. It's so fun getting them back from the developer, even if the color is weird and there are plenty of blurry ones in the batch.

I love this picture Elisabeth took.
Cecilia's beautiful house pictures!

Some owls

2009-11-09T14:58:00.002-05:00

I made these owls once before but wasn't completely happy with the construction. I've decided to use dowels, drilled in and secured, a nice clean look.

Have you seen these flies yet? via ffffound.
I made this yummy dish last week.

more grey

2009-11-03T14:48:00.002-05:00

Feeling a bit unfocused lately. A Urologist who had purchased mooks from me in the past has now commissioned an anatomically correct mook. The above is a cutout from the fig leaf I am making, for the sake of decency ;)

2009-10-27T10:43:00.003-04:00

I was just telling Tony that I wish Bean Bags would come back into style, but with an updated look. A few days later, I spotted these in the back of a magazine. Made by Stephanie Marin for Marin Designs, these might fit the bill -I'd love a bunch of them, scattered about in the house.

These comics by K. Beaton are so funny.

We didn't catch any fish.

2009-10-23T09:16:00.003-04:00

On a rainy day we went fishing. The sun peeked in every once in a while. Enzo came prepared with his fishing lure collection but we wound up using some greenbacks (they were already dead) that were given to us by some really sweet and knowledgeable fishing boys. We never caught anything but it was really nice.

A big, huge congratulations to Fliss, she's had her little one :)
And some beautiful baby pictures of Leen's sweet Annabel.
mieke willems has their new online shop, now all those nice things are within grasp.

October weekend

2009-10-19T14:11:00.002-04:00

Had a weekend jam-packed full of some of my favorite things:
Went to a wonderful Oktoberfest with some great people.
Saw Where the Wild Things Are, really liked it.
Spent a lot of time out in our yard, planting a peach tree and getting my fall garden ready.
Made my most favorite White Chili and looked through the new Mome that just arrived in the mail.
And best of all, snuggled up with my guys-we finally got some nice cold weather here :)

Tadpoles

2009-10-13T09:26:00.003-04:00

I will probably be sprinkling in a few pictures from the summer (the "lost months") although I really didn't take many. We did a bit of tadpole collecting, trying our best to ignore the many mosquitoes.

Jumping back in

2009-10-09T10:49:00.005-04:00

Wow, it's been a while! But I am ready to come back to the wonderful world of blogging :) Besides wanting to take some time off from everything this summer, I feel like I aquired a bit of blogging stage fright. It's like I haven't felt like my ordinary life has anything interesting enough to talk about or show.

But I'm going to go on the fact that one of the things I love most about reading other people's blogs is just that-seeing the ordinary lives of otherwise unordinary and creative poeple. I have really missed our exchanges and so I'm back in :)

Enzo has started school (for a few hours in the morning) and one of the things I love most about it is that we can walk there together. Many times, our dog comes with us and this morning our cat Herman was waiting for me on the trail when I returned.

time flies...

2009-07-21T17:37:00.002-04:00

Oops, half the summer is gone! I didn't plan on taking such a long break from blogging and my shop, but here we are. I'll probably take a few more weeks of doing not much at all :)